Internal combustion
by DBShaw
Summary: Hermione hates Draco. Draco hates Hermione. At least that's what they keep telling themselves. A short one-shot written for the Draco Hermione fic exchange on livejournal.


_"To really know someone is to have_

_love and hated him in turn."_

_~ Marcel Jouhandeau_

~Hermione~

I hate him, I just _hate _him. Look at him, sat over at the Slytherin table with pug-face-Parkinson fawning all over him like he's Merlin's gift to female kind. We had double potions today and every time I asked a question, those walking pituitary glands he calls friends were throwing bits of dead frog in my hair. Snape did get annoyed about it, but only because they were wasting ingredients.

What's that? Oh Ron's talking to me, look at Ron, pretend you're listening, Hermione. What's he saying? Something about Snape and copying homework, just agree so he'll be quiet and you can go back to pushing your dinner around on the plate. The stupid, blonde-haired, jumped up, ignorant, preening, rich-boy over there is probably too engrossed in his own ego to notice that Parkinson is trying to mount him while the rest of us are eating.

Ron's asking something, just nod and smile and keep looking in his general direction, he'll never notice that you weren't paying any attention. How long have I been here, ten minutes? Not long enough to make an excuse about having to go to the library. The library has been the best excuse ever over the years, if they can't find me they assume I'm there and never bother to look, it's come in handy once or twice when they've been doing my head in.

Look at him shoveling mint-chocolate chip cookies into his gob, he's not even had his main meal yet and he's eating dessert, trust a Slytherin to eat his meals backwards. Ok Hermione, you're paying _far_ too much attention to him just think about something else. Quidditch. Good. Quidditch is a bit dull, I only go because of Harry. At least Gryffindor always beat the Slytherins, Malfoy's a rubbish seeker, only got on the team because his _Daddy_ bought the team new brooms. _Dammit_.

Think of something else, Hagrid. Hagrid's beard, Hagrid's hut, Hagrid's unusual obsession with dragons and come to mention it other fairly dangerous creatures. It was bad when Buckbeak attacked Malfoy, saying that it was his own fault - _damm it_!

Spew - House elves - Dobby, Malfoy used to own Dobby - oh for Merlin's sake! Snape - Potions - ... Snape is always unfair to us in potions, he always lets Malfoy... This isn't working... Muggle things, Malfoy hates muggle things, there can't be anything to connect him there. Ironing boards, knitting baskets, the Women's Institute, monkeys, giraffes, elephants... Now I'm just naming things.

I hate him, I hate him, I _hate_ him. Sod this for a game of soldiers, I'm going to the library.

~Draco~

Is that bushy-haired, jumped up, infuriating little know-it-all glaring at me? She _is_, she is glaring. Oh how I hate that Gryffindor. Well just ignore her, you're better than her even though she'd have you think otherwise. The minute you leave Hogwarts you'll be on Witch Weekly's list top ten bachelors to know and try to marry, that will show her who's superior.

This afternoon Crabbe bet Goyle a knut that if they threw half a jar of frog's legs in her hair that Snape would only tell them off for wasting things. Dumb as cinder blocks those two but Crabbe was right, I think she's still got some leg in her hair now, that'll be there till christmas I'd wager.

Pansy's talking to me, no I'll rephrase that she's talking _at _me, the less information retained from conversations with Parkinson the better. I wonder if she actually sees the world or if it's just noises and pretty colours inside her brain.

Look at Weaselby, he's slobbering all over her, I think some mashed potato actually just dropped out his mouth mid-word. They're probably talking about how _good_ and _brave_ they all are and how much _fun_ it is to break all the school rules and never get in trouble for it. Bloody hell if Pansy shoves up against me anymore she'll be in my lap. What can't Pansy stand? Mint, she hates anything mint, I'll just grab a handful of those mint flavoured cookies and she'll soon bugger off.

Is Granger staring at me again? I wish I could lip read, I'd love to know what inane little things her and Weaselby are talking about - wait, no I don't, I couldn't care less what they were talking about. Oh bollocks to this just think about something else, Draco.

Homework, good old boring homework, Granger's good at homework - no, Draco, don't go down that road. What homework do you have to do? Transfiguration, McGonnagol wants 12 inches of parchment by Friday about turning animals into tea cozies. I'll have to do some research at the library, Granger's always in the library - _shit_.

This is ridiculous, your brain has functioned for many years without thinking about Granger you can do it again. What's the least connectable thing in the world to Granger? Jam, potatoes, oil lamps, crocodiles - do I even know anything about crocodiles? Maybe I could persuade Father to get to build a moat around the hedge maze and put a few in.

Where's Granger going?

~Neville~

Don't get involved, how many times do you have to tell yourself that? Just don't get involved, it's none of your business. Hermione's staring at the Slytherin table, does she even realise she's doing that? Cripes, Malfoy's looking over here now, this is all your own fault, Neville.

You just couldn't mind your own business could you? As soon as you heard the arguing on the astronomy tower you should have turned around and gone back to the common room, you could hear that it was Hermione and of all people she can look after herself.

Hermione hasn't said anything, I don't think she knew you were there. What did you think was going to happen - that you'd be coming to save the day? Alright, to be honest, it did seem like a heated arguement, how were you supposed to know what was going to happen?

It was probably one of those heat of the moment things, never to be repeated, Hermione looks like she's going to murder him.

~Hermione~

I had to get out of there, I couldn't breathe. It felt like there were a hundred eyes on me and every pair knew what I did last night. I should have just left the astronomy tower instead of staying and arguing. Why can't I resist arguing with him? Am I sick in the head? Is arguing with Malfoy some sort of bizarre ritual foreplay? Ergh – I can't believe I just thought that.

Did he kiss me or did I kiss him? Did we kiss each other? I can't believe I kissed Malfoy. I'm supposed to hate Malfoy, I do hate Malfoy, I _hate_ him. Don't I?

Why am I so angry? I just can't figure it out, my head hurts too much, I never thought that a Malfoy could affect me this way. Well, that's not strictly true, I already knew a Malfoy could make me angry, just not _this_ angry.

I feel like I am betraying Harry. He's hated Malfoy for so long, _I've_ hated Malfoy for so long. Would it be even right to change my feelings about Malfoy?

Even after brushing my teeth six times I can still taste him at the back of my throat.

~Draco~

What's she doing there? Just sitting and staring at nothing. Why am I even here?

What will happen if I go over there? Will we just start arguing all over again? Arguing with Granger is nothing like arguing with Potter. When I think about arguing with her I get this weird cramp in my stomach, I'm not sure if it's because I enjoy arguing with her or I'm anticipating her slapping me again.

I washed my mouth out with Nott's secret stash of Firewhiskey, that he thinks I don't know about, three times last night and three times this morning but I can still taste her peppermint flavoured toothpaste. I nearly scrubbed the skin off my hands but I swear when I rub my fingertips together I can her silky hair between them. I thought her hair would be dry, that it would rough and full of split ends but it was soft and smelt faintly of blueberry shampoo.

Her mouth was so soft, I couldn't believe how soft it was.

Can you hate someone and like them at the same time? If you're told something everyday of your life, have it drilled into your very being, is it possible to cut it out and go against everything you thought was true?

Shit, maybe I should have gargled that Firewhiskey instead of drinking it.

Is Granger crying?

Draco stepped out from book shelf he'd been hiding behind and took a couple of slow cautious steps towards Hermione. He wasn't sure she had even noticed his presence until he was standing only inches in front of her and she raised her head and their eyes locked. "Hi."

Hermione swept her fingers underneath her eyes, brushing away the tears which had escaped despite willing them not to. "If you've come to gloat or make some sarky remark about my hair then can you please save it for another day?"

"I wasn't..." he paused, then sighed. "I wanted to ask you if you were happy."

Hermione arched an eyebrow and tucked a lock of long, curly hair behind her ear. "Does it look like I'm happy?"

Draco perched on the table next to Hermione and locked his fingers together in his lap. "Most of the time I'm angry, I don't even know what I'm angry about sometimes. Last night though, I think I wasn't for the first time in as long as I can remember."

Hermione swallowed a hard lump in her throat that felt like she was trying to dry-swallow a pill. "Last night was... it was different. It made me feel angry and upset and I don't know, excited maybe. I still think I hate you though."

He stretched his arm and cautiously brushed his finger tips against her cheek "I think I still hate you too."

Hermione stood to her feet and placed her hands on his cheeks, she looked into the blonde, Slytherin's eyes, looking for signs of insincerity. "Maybe hate works for us."

He leant forward and their lips brushed, feeling a moment of daring he kissed her lower lip and she began to reciprocate. Lips parted and his tongue slid against hers, eliciting the smallest of moans from Hermione's mouth, they parted and Draco tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "I hate you."

Hermione smiled and brushed her thumb against his cheek. "I hate you too. Do you think we can hate each other and still be happy?"

"Happy is overrated" said Draco "Let's just go for incredible." Then he kissed her again.


End file.
